Tour of Lombardy: Former star Valverde says goodbye
DPA
· 06.10.2022
Valverde banned for two years
Italy of all places! The fact that former champion Alejandro Valverde will bring his cycling career to an end on Saturday at the Tour of Lombardy after 21 years as a professional cyclist is not without a certain piquancy. After all, it was the Italian doping investigators who cost Valverde two years of his career, which was adorned with great successes.
In 2008, the busy investigators used a detour from the Tour de France to Prato Nevoso to take Valverde's blood. And lo and behold: the DNA comparison matched the blood bags from the laboratory of doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes labelled "Piti Valv". Piti is said to have been the name of the Spaniard's German shepherd dog, which Valverde denied, as well as any direct contact with Fuentes. But all the appeals and denials were of no avail, even before the International Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas.
A total of 133 professional victories
Valverde has since escaped all doping issues, as he has often done with his rivals on the road bike. After his ban in 2011, the man from Murcia simply picked up where he had involuntarily left off. Valverde achieved a total of 133 professional victories, more than any other Spaniard. Be it the great Miguel Indurain, Pedro Delgado or Alberto Contador. Accordingly, the 42-year-old was recently celebrated euphorically at the roadside almost every day at the Vuelta, which was "very emotional".
Valverde had spoilt Spanish cycling fans with victories for two decades. He won spring classics such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège (four times) or the Flèche Wallonne with the steep finale on the Mur de Huy (five times). He triumphed in major tours such as the Vuelta (2009) or in smaller races such as Catalonia (three times). He took numerous stage victories in the Tour or the Vuelta and he was crowned world champion in 2018. At the age of 38 at the World Championships in Innsbruck, he became the second oldest professional cyclist after Joop Zoetemelk, having previously finished on the podium six times.
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Valverde remains silent
Valverde was a complete racer. And this complete picture also somehow fits in with the fact that his CV has dark spots. Because when Valverde began his career with the controversial Kelme team in 2002, he competed with riders such as Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich and Alexander Vinokourov. Valverde has always remained silent about the dark years in cycling, which is probably also due to the fact that he was not often asked about them in his home country.
But his career was always remarkable. In terms of racing kilometres alone, he circumnavigated the globe five times. Colleagues and rivals alike were always impressed by his fitness. "When we were all suffering, Alejandro was still fresh," Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour winner, once said. He managed 32 starts in major tours. "I've achieved everything in cycling. Now I can retire with peace of mind," says Valverde. Even in his youth, he was already racking up a string of victories, earning him the nickname "El Imbatido" ("the unbeaten"). Nevertheless, Valverde always remained modest. If his cycling career hadn't worked out, he would have become a lorry driver like his father, says the all-rounder.
Valverde also had some difficult times in the sport. He had reported depressive phases after his doping ban and feared the end of his career in 2017 after a bad crash at the start of the Tour in Düsseldorf. Back then, the veteran rider had suffered a fractured kneecap. "I looked at my knee. I thought they would have to fit me with a prosthesis. That was the worst moment, those 15 minutes on the floor," recalls Valverde. Six months later, he was back. Valverde kept on riding. What became of Piti was never resolved. An episode that the taciturn cycling star will probably always keep to himself.
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